A couple of days ago we finally had some relatively nice weather. It was 75 and sunny ,unseasonal but a chance to take advantage of the day and do some slow and low southern BBQ cooking. I’ve written about BBQ is several other posts but this time I’m going to be doing it my way and sharing my recipe for BBQ Boonies Dry Rub. I’m also going to use this post as a test. Hopefully things are set up so that I’ll be able to post on Facebook and on the website with just a click of a button. I’m confident that everything will work out, however, I don’t know about you but my internet has been acting strange lately. Either it’s getting overloaded by everyone being home and using it or “Skynet” has begun its push to overthrow the humans… Yes I’ve been in quarantine toooooo long! Ok now for the good stuff.
If you’ve been reading my posts you’ll notice a disproportionate amount of BBQ post. I’ll admit I have a weakness for traditional southern style BBQ. I bought my first smoker way back in 1990 and introduced this style of cooking to friends in New York. I’ve been eating BBQ since I was a kid and have tasted it in 30 of the 50 states. Just to be clear when I’m talking about BBQ , I’m not talking about cooking over direct heat like you would when you’re “grilling”. That’s what most people call BBQ. What I’m referring to is the method of slow cooking cuts of meat over indirect heat using wood to impart flavor. In America, there’s many regions that have their own style of BBQ. I say many regions because there’s variations all over the place, yet traditionally it’s agreed upon that there are four main styles of BBQ.
- Memphis style– Uses mostly pork cooked with Hickory wood. Ribs are served “dry” or “wet” ,with or without sauce. The sauce is tomato vinegar base.
- Carolinas– Pork is the meat of choice with the whole hog being used in the eastern part of the state and the shoulder used in Lexington style pulled pork. The sauces differ also from the eastern vinegar and pepper sauce (NO TOMATO!) to the mustard based sauce as you head south. They use hickory and oak wood for cooking.
- Kansas City – This region has been influenced from all over. They use many types of meat but are famous for chicken and ribs. The wood use varies also and the sauce is a sweet tomato base with molasses. I venture to say the bbq sauce we usually see in stores is this type.
- Texas– As you would expect from a state as big as Texas their BBQ styles vary. Texas is beef country and they are amazing at making brisket. They also love the link sausage. You’ll find a tomato based slightly sweet and spicy sauce. The sauce gets a little spicier as you head west and that may be my favorite.
This list is by no means complete, its a basic guideline. There are many restaurants where you’ll find every type of BBQ available in one spot with equally as many sauces. I also think the Pacific Northwest deserves a shout out for their Salmon smoked on alder wood or cedar planks. The thing I like to remind people is that BBQ as we know it today is strictly an American dish. It grew out of the diversity of the people who settled in this country. That’s one reason it’s so loved by so many. I hope this little post might spark some interest in you to get out there and make some real BBQ on your own. If you don’t have a smoker you can still do an indirect method of cooking using a charcoal grill with the coals moved to one side and the meat on the opposite side. Then place some hard wood chips that have been soaked in water on the hot coals and close the lid. It’ll take at least four hours for a rack of ribs to cook this way and you have to make sure the heat stays constant, you’ll probably have to add more wood or charcoal at some point. BBQ is not meant to be rushed so if you give this method a try, be patient. The best thing to do is to jump in and buy a cheap smoker. I’ve seen them on sale for around $50 depending on the time of year.
This post is meant to pique your interest and give you a basic dry rub and sauce recipe. Then hopefully you’ll experiment and create your own variations. I want to keep it simple today but if you have any questions about BBQ please send them to me in an email. I love talking about BBQ! If you have a recipe you’d like to share please send that along also. One of the great things about BBQ is the community. If you go to a BBQ competition you’ll find some real friendly people willing to talk to you about everything but their secret recipes! The two recipes that follow below are not secret and are meant for you to use and tweak as you see fit. Something to note is , in the dry rub recipe, chili powder is one of the ingredients. Where I come from in Arizona and New Mexico for that matter when one says “chili powder” it means dried chilis ground into a powder. However, to the entire rest of the world it means a mixture of dried herbs and spices that you would use to make a pot of chili. So when you see it below it means this.
- CHILI POWDER
- 1/2 cup ground dried red chilis
- 1/4 cup garlic powder
- 1/4 cup cumin
- 3 tablespoons onion powder
- 2 tablespoons Mexican oregano crushed
- BASIC DRY RUB
- 1/4 cup chili powder – as described above
- 1/4 ground black pepper
- 3/4 cup paprika ( not smoked!)
- 1/4 cup salt
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cayenne (I like it hot so adjust for your taste)
- Toss all ingredients together and mix throughly. Use this on almost any cut of meat you want to BBQ or grill. It’s a little strong for fish.
- BASIC KANSAS CITY BBQ SAUCE
- 2 tablespoons oil for cooking the onions and garlic
- 1 large onion minced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 4 cups of ketchup
- 3/4 cup of Cider vinegar
- 3/4 cup of brown sugar
- 1/4 cup Molasses
- 2 tablespoons dry mustard
- 3 tablespoons Cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon ground black or white pepper
- 2 tablespoons chili powder (recipe above)
- 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- Sauté the onions and garlic in the oil being careful not to let the onions caramelize. Add the remaining ingredients, stir well and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally
There’s a couple schools of thought on sauces when it comes to BBQ. Many people will take it as an insult if you want to pour sauce over their BBQ’s meat. They feel the flavor imparted by the dry rub and smoking process is enough. I personally like my BBQ served without sauce and then I can decide if I want sauce or not. I believe all good BBQ should be served that way. On the other side some recipes like, certain types of pulled pork or chicken often require a sauce to be incorporated to compliment the flavors of the smoked meat. Then I go with the flow and enjoy the sauce already on the meat.
In the pictures I have done a pork shoulder and used the homemade bread from a later post to make sandwiches. Some people ate them without sauce and some ate them with sauce and cole slaw. It all comes down to your own taste buds. I hope you’re going to try making the dry rub or the sauce. These recipes are very easy and can be adapted to your liking. Please send me your questions and comments and I’ll get back to you as quickly as possible. Until next time Boone Appétit!
